Burglars nabbed by off-duty police officer

Steve Love

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputies M. Cantu and C. Spilman were dispatched to a burglary in progress in the 10800 block of Lazy Meadows Drive around 1:30 a.m. When they arrived, they were met by a witness who happened to be a police officer with another department.

He said he saw two men looking inside vehicles and became suspicious. The witness approached them, but one ran away. He was able to detain the other suspect, later identified as 30-year-old Michael Taylor. Spilman asked what the two men were doing, and Taylor reportedly said he and his friend were burglarizing vehicles.

Taylor had a laptop computer in his possession. The Deputies found another computer and a digital camera on the ground in the direction the other suspect ran. Taylor took Cantu to a truck located in a driveway at 10600 Spring Harvest Drive where he and his friend allegedly committed the burglary.

While Cantu was speaking with the owner of the truck, information came over the radio that the second suspect had been spotted in the area. Cantu found him and identified him as Mario Maes.

Maes reportedly also admitted to burglarizing the truck. After the owner of the truck identified the items that had been found on the ground and in Taylor's possession, they were returned to him.

Taylor was arrested for felony theft and is currently in the Harris County jail on a $15,000 bond. Maes was arrested for burglary to a vehicle and is in the Harris County jail on a $1,500 bond.